CSS vs. CTI

Hi everyone! I haven't been on the board in quite some time and couldn't get my old account to work. Anyway my husband and I have some air vouchers we have to use soon so we are looking to book a trip to our favorite place on earth in mid-May! We have been to CSA 3 times and love it! Every time we say we are going to try the Ochi side of the island out and we never do. I'm thinking this is the time since our beloved Atrium suites are sold out for the dates we are looking at. So... My question is this. For someone that loves CSA and just Negril in general which resort would be best for us? Our absolute favorite thing about CSA is the beach and I know the beaches are very different in Ochi a great beach is a must! Soft sand, calm waters... Also, anyone that has been to CSA will understand the importance in this, do they have fish tacos at CSS and CTI? I haven't had any since last Valentines Day and I need my fix! HAHA!

If a great beach is a must, try cn. While css is gorgeous, service and great food, the beach is disappointing imo compared to Negril. We will stay put in Negril from now on but if you can get past that, go for it. If a small and private beach appeals to you, you'll probably like it. It's couples after all.

I don't mind a small private beach as long as it has soft sand and calm clear water. We went to Mexico in Jan with friends and the beach was so rocky! Our friends that haven't been to Negril kept telling me I was crazy and it was beautiful. I'm a beach snob and I know it!

When we went to css, the weather was crappy. White caps, wind, rough water, rain, not nice. It was the one time I was cold in Jamaica. I wrapped myself with a towel on the beach! The sea was churned up so it wasn't the pretty water like csa. Not sure if it's like that alot. Mostly what we missed was the long walks we take at csa. I hope it's nice for you.

When we went to css, the weather was crappy. White caps, wind, rough water, rain, not nice. It was the one time I was cold in Jamaica. I wrapped myself with a towel on the beach! The sea was churned up so it wasn't the pretty water like csa. Not sure if it's like that alot. Mostly what we missed was the long walks we take at csa. I hope it's nice for you.

no. if it was like that there, it would have been like that cti as well. that is not a good barometer of which is better. The best way to judge is this:

Do you like a more hotel like atmosphere? then CTI may be right for you.
Do you like a more plantation like, wilderness feel? then CSS may be right for you.

This is not scientific, but, if you go on Trip Advisor, you will find that 90% of folks who've been to both prefer CSS. Just saying.

Try CSS. We love CN but also love CSS. We enjoy the change in scenery. We have always enjoyed the beach at CSS and the water has always been calm when we've been there. You can enjoy your floaties all day in the water. Maybe you cannot take long walks on the beach but there are plenty of beautiful grounds to walk around and explore. We love the smaller size of the resort and no beach vendors. They allow locals to come on the grounds during the week and set up tables but there is no pressure at all. We enjoy looking at their wares. Be adventurous.

We like CTI better than CSS. The rooms are newer, you have more restaurants to chose from and we liked the food better. CSS is very nice and SSB is probably the best a/n site of the (3) that offer a/n but a lot of steps to deal with at CSS

The beaches are plenty nice at both, you cannot walk great distances on the beach like you can in Negril but you do not have a bunch of people walking by all day and no bother at all from the jet ski guys. CTI has the cat cruise where CSS does not. We also like the pools better at CTI.

no. if it was like that there, it would have been like that cti as well. that is not a good barometer of which is better. The best way to judge is this:

Do you like a more hotel like atmosphere? then CTI may be right for you.
Do you like a more plantation like, wilderness feel? then CSS may be right for you.

This is not scientific, but, if you go on Trip Advisor, you will find that 90% of folks who've been to both prefer CSS. Just saying.

I prefer CTI, but you will get a lot of different opinions. Please do not put ANY stock in Trip Advisor!!! For the most part it's a sham. I was at CSS BEFORE It was a couples. The stairs are a killer but I'm sure you will have a great time, after all it IS a Couples resort.

I prefer CTI, but you will get a lot of different opinions. Please do not put ANY stock in Trip Advisor!!! For the most part it's a sham. I was at CSS BEFORE It was a couples. The stairs are a killer but I'm sure you will have a great time, after all it IS a Couples resort.

Woah there friend. Tripadvisor is NOT a sham. In fact, it is more trustworthy than other review sites. TripAdvisor audits each review to make sure it is not a fraud. it will remove fraudulent reviews. not so of Yelp or other sites. I travel a TON in europe, Asia, and the Western Hemisphere, and I can tell you. I always check and trust tripadvisor. I have not been steered wrong yet.

The reviews are plain to see. You can tell when someone is complaining for no reason, because they are whining about something that happened just to them either out of their own ignorance or lack of research, and therefore give a bad rating. an examples would be: "nobody told us there were lots of stairs at CSS" or "When we got to the island at CTI, they kicked us off because it was all nude ONLY!".

Having said all this, I did mention that my statement about most people on tripadvisor was non-scientific. It could be that only people who liked CSS more responded.

I have seen quite a few reviews on there with people complaining about things being terrible that the resorts do not even offer. I still think they or others try to sabotage not just couples resorts but others as well.

We've been to both CSS & CTI and enjoyed them both for different reasons. When we stayed at CSS it was during tropical storm Tomas so it was cold, windy and beach horrible. The bottom of the sea felt like really soft mud. Yuck. Our room was perfect for lots of room time!
We stayed at CTI last Oct, and I didn't like the beach at all, but I really enjoyed the quiet pool and the little veggie bar right on the beach. We went over to CSS for Trading Places and couldn't believe how nice the beach was that day. (Our fav. is CN...I like a really nice beach, too).

CTI is one of the worst resorts we ever stayed at. They even let single men in while we were there. It was very loud and not very romantic like the other couple resorts. Service was terrible and if your into the nude beach the island is all you get and nothing to do out there but hang out in a tiny little pool the size of a hot tub, also the crowd out there are all regulars and are hard to talk to. We will never go back to this resort and would not recommend it to anyone. If you have any other questions ask we will do our best to answer.

CTI is one of the worst resorts we ever stayed at. They even let single men in while we were there. It was very loud and not very romantic like the other couple resorts. Service was terrible and if your into the nude beach the island is all you get and nothing to do out there but hang out in a tiny little pool the size of a hot tub, also the crowd out there are all regulars and are hard to talk to. We will never go back to this resort and would not recommend it to anyone. If you have any other questions ask we will do our best to answer.

Here we have the opposite of our experiences over the last 11 years.

The "single men" were part of something else, be it a wedding party or whatever. Or, perhaps they were a couple?

CTI is one of the worst resorts we ever stayed at. They even let single men in while we were there. It was very loud and not very romantic like the other couple resorts. Service was terrible and if your into the nude beach the island is all you get and nothing to do out there but hang out in a tiny little pool the size of a hot tub, also the crowd out there are all regulars and are hard to talk to. We will never go back to this resort and would not recommend it to anyone. If you have any other questions ask we will do our best to answer.

Wow! Interestingly enough, I've been to CTI many times and never once had "terrible" service, never found it to be "loud" or "not very romantic" (personally, I've encountered plenty of romance at CTI), we "regulars" on the island always go out of our way to welcome new people, and not sure what you're expecting in the way of entertainment on the island but it is very relaxing, not "boring".

Wow! Interestingly enough, I've been to CTI many times and never once had "terrible" service, never found it to be "loud" or "not very romantic" (personally, I've encountered plenty of romance at CTI), we "regulars" on the island always go out of our way to welcome new people, and not sure what you're expecting in the way of entertainment on the island but it is very relaxing, not "boring".

That's because you're hanging out on the nude island. I'm sure the experience was different for the non island guests.

CTI is one of the worst resorts we ever stayed at. They even let single men in while we were there. It was very loud and not very romantic like the other couple resorts. Service was terrible and if your into the nude beach the island is all you get and nothing to do out there but hang out in a tiny little pool the size of a hot tub, also the crowd out there are all regulars and are hard to talk to. We will never go back to this resort and would not recommend it to anyone. If you have any other questions ask we will do our best to answer.

Now I know you that you are expecting a LOT of responses from your post. Im sorry you had a less then stellar holiday. Every time we have been there we had delightful times. It certainly not loud, I don't know where that came from. We were new to the AN thing and were immediately welcomed by the "regulars" as you call them on the island. Perhaps you gave them the vibe that you were un approachable? Anyway I'm kind of glad you won't be there in August when I'm there I might offend you from being loud.

My husband and I are regulars at CSS and CTI. We do back to back weeks at both, they each have something special. We have already booked for 2015, our 21st time back to a Couples resort. CSS has the best AN but CTI has better food. The staff are great at both and have only once encounter a concern at a restaurant. They go out if there way to make everyone feel special. If the beach is you're thing you may what to stick to Negril, or go out on a limb and try something new. Hope you have a great time no matter where you stay.

Have been to all 4. Sand is better at CTI than CSS, and I liked the tall palms, but the water was so rough when we were there - no water sports. 1 week later at CSS the water was calm. Maybe it just improved, but the bay at CSS was more protected. Enjoyed both but beaches are no where as nice as Negril.